


Prompt #171

by StrangeMischief



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2020-10-26 10:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20740637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrangeMischief/pseuds/StrangeMischief
Summary: “What is it?” Tony asked suspiciously. He inspected the dreamcatcher carefully, pulling gently on the threads and pushing on the loop’s outer curves “Did you make this? Is it witchy?”





	Prompt #171

**Author's Note:**

> As always, enjoy :3

_ Prompt #171 _

Stephen knew he was treading dangerously close to overstepping. He and Tony had just barely moved past sardonic and bitter banter to something more akin to friendship. He had no place interfering in the billionaire’s life, and yet…the darker the circles under Tony’s eyes became, the more determined Stephen was to bring the man some semblance of peace.

And so, he decided to make a dreamcatcher.

It was easy enough to create the enchantment. Anyone could do it, really. Even the tiny ones sold on street corners or the overly feathered ones in novelty shops had small, residual traces of magic clinging to their delicate tread. While layering spells onto inanimate objects typically required great skill, in the case of a dreamcatcher it was less about mystic arts and more about the intent.

Stephen had plenty of intent.

What he didn’t have were the hands to make the dreamcatcher.

He thought of buying one and layering on the spell work himself, but a nagging voice that sounded painfully like Wong told him it wouldn’t work that way. It needed to be created by Stephen himself, or the enchantment would weaken, and fade after a matter of days.

So, with the same care he’d use to clip an aneurysm, Stephen wound the string around a small wooden hoop, pulling the thread taut against its curves before lopping back again. With each loop, Stephen placed a silent wish and the smallest wisp of magic. _Sleep deeply_, he hoped_. Sleep peacefully, _he willed_. Dream not of the bad, but of the good, _he begged_. Dream of those who love you, _he pleaded_. _

On and on it went. Loop. Plea. Knot. Repeat.

It wasn’t until the painfully slow process was over and Stephen was taking in the slightly uneven heptagram he had created that he realized that there was an even greater hurdle he had yet to face.

Convincing Tony to _take _the dreamcatcher.

\---

“What is it?” Tony asked suspiciously. He inspected the dreamcatcher carefully, pulling gently on the threads and pushing on the loop’s outer curves “Did _you _make this? Is it witchy?”

“It’s a dreamcatcher_,_” Stephen replied breezily, ignoring the twinge of hurt he felt at Tony’s words. Was it so obvious he’d made it? Had his unsteady hands left the lines that uneven? “_Yes, _I made it_. No, _it’s not ‘witchy.’ It’s enchanted to filter out nightmares while you sleep.”

“I didn’t know you were into arts and crafts, Strange,” Tony mumbled softly, turning the dreamcatcher over in his hands. “Why give this to me? I sleep just fine without your magical trinkets.”

“You don’t sleep _fine, _Tony,” Stephen sighed, already turning away. “I thought it might be helpful to you. Put it above your bed before you go to sleep. Or don’t. I don’t care.”

“Stephen!” Tony called out. Regret clawed up his stomach and sliced its way into his chest. “Just wait! I didn’t mean to-”

But Tony’s words were met with empty air. Stephen was already gone.

Tony groaned and glared down at the dreamcatcher as if it were responsible for his troubles. Stephen had said it was _enchanted. _The idea of something magical, something so unknown, hovering right over him as he slept made him uneasy.

_You don’t sleep fine, Tony._

He could try it _once. _For a night._ To appease Stephen, _he told himself. Not because he _needed _it. No, Tony Stark didn’t need dreamcatchers to chase away the bad dreams.

\---

Tony hung the dreamcatcher above his bed.

And if that night, Tony slept deeply and peacefully, it wasn’t because the dreamcatcher prevented images of glowing infinity stones and endless starry skies from settling in his mind. If he dreamt of MIT with Rhodey, new elements, or shawarma after a long fight it had nothing to do with an enchantment allowed him to dream not of the bad, but of the good.

If Tony dreamt of people, of Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, and Peter, it _might _have been because they loved him, and he loved them.

But any dream that had to do with Stephen_…_that was pure coincidence.

And should the dreamcatcher remain above Tony’s bed months later when a certain sorcerer found himself in Tony’s bed, it wasn’t because Tony had needed it or enjoyed the sweet dreams it brought, but because he’d, “forgotten to take it down.”


End file.
